Consequences
by Lyrasloon
Summary: Naruto is anything but impressed after what happened with Momoshiki Otsutsuki. He realizes just how much trouble The Kote has caused and is going to make sure people learn their lesson, even if that includes Boruto. I might add another chapter about the actual consequences, but this is finished for the most part.
1. After the Battle

A/N: Alright, so I know that I have so much work to do on my other fics; it would be a blatant lie to everyone involved for me to be thinking otherwise. Ahh, I'm cringing right now as I am hoping my accent isn't going to accidentally make its way into my drabble here. So this is one of those I'm just doing a pretty short drabble to ease the pain of not writing for a while. *bow* Sorry about that, guys. T.T This one is kinda out of my usual range, but its a change for the better, perhaps.

Summary: Naruto is anything but impressed with how things have gone with the Scientific Ninja Weapons Team lately, especially since they have done nothing but make his life harder lately. However, that doesn't mean things have ended well for them after the Momoshiki Otsutsuki incident...for him or for Boruto.

 _Now, before anyone gets out of shape and corrects me on the minuscule details, I'm not going off of the manga for the most part. However, I'm trying to stick as close to it as I can. So, if I step on any toes, well...you were warned. I am also probably going to be jumping back and forth between the English dub and the original, while also depending on some research. Also, it isn't entirely clear that the scientist made it back, but I'm writing under the assumption that they did. Besides, Naruto wouldn't leave people behind (no matter how annoying they were or how much trouble they caused)._

Consequences

Getting back from the other dimension was exhausting for just about everyone; as no one really had any energy, let alone chakra. Sasuke was barely able to make it back to Konoha, but he could see Naruto giving him an admonishing look out of the corner of his eye. As nice as it was for his friend to be so concerned, he was hardly one to talk. Boruto looked between the two of them, confused as to why his sensei was getting looks that were usually reserved for him. He knew that he was not alone in his confusion, as Sarada had just started walking next to him and giving him a somewhat perplexed expression after looking at her father. She had picked up on what had seemed like a major change in the atmosphere, and it confused her quite a bit. She wanted to wait until she could drag her friend away, but she wasn't sure how long that would take.

Sakura and Hinata were back at Naruto's place; waiting patiently for everyone to return, having just put Himawari to bed a little while ago. As the early morning hours started to approach, they both leaped out of their seats as they heard some voices approaching; having been on the verge of falling asleep at the table. Naruto and Sasuke stumbled through the door, with the kids following behind them. Sakura glared at Sarada, knowing that she had snuck out when she was with Hinata to go wait for them at the tower. Seeing her mother's withering glare, Sarada winced slightly, hoping that she wasn't in too much trouble. Of course, everyone was too exhausted to care at the moment, but there would be repercussions, no doubt about that. At first, everyone looked around, thinking about sleeping arrangements, or just sitting down period. Naruto and Sasuke merely looked at each other and collapsed in the nearest chairs they could find. Sarada and Boruto looked at each other and then everyone else, dumbfounded. What was with the silent conversations? And how could they possibly fall asleep in such an uncomfortable position?

Hinata sighed, both exhausted and extremely relieved that her family made it back safely. It seemed that everyone involved made it back, otherwise she probably would've heard about it...somehow. Sakura didn't seem to think that there was any urgent medical treatment needed that couldn't wait until they all got some sleep, so it seemed that everybody could use some good rest. Hopefully, Sasuke and especially Naruto, would use common sense and try to get more than just a few hours sleep. She knew better than anyone that he was pushing himself way too hard these days, even if Shikamaru had been telling him to delegate more often. She gently shoved Boruto towards his room to get some sleep, before getting a few blankets for the guys. Shaking her head and sighing, somewhat disheartened at the sight of how drained they must be. Looking over at Sakura, she smiled and dragged her up to the spare room, expecting Sarada to follow. Sakura merely gave a silent 'disobey-and-pay-the-consequences' look, making the girl widen her eyes and follow mere inches behind her. Too tired to genuinely care about manners or formalities of any kind, everyone just silently went to their rooms and slept where they were. As Hinata got into bed, she realized that while she might get some less sleep than the others, she wasn't in any battles or recovering from chakra depletion. Tomorrow...or today would be interesting indeed.

Naruto woke up to a high pitched noise, which he struggled to recognize for a few moments. He realized that he was in a chair, having fallen asleep just a few hours earlier. Even barely awake as he was, he could sense his friend's foul mood. He wasn't sure what was funny, really, but he had trouble containing his laughter nonetheless.

"Your kid is just as loud as you ever were, dobe." Sasuke muttered, obviously trying to go back to sleep. Apparently, he either didn't care that they were resting on a table, or he just couldn't find it in him to care.

Naruto finally gave in and laughed, before hearing Himawari's voice get closer. He echoed his friend's groan, muttering words that he was lucky Hinata was unable to hear. Speaking of which, was she even awake? He knew Boruto wasn't going to be up and around anytime soon, and he didn't think any of the Uchihas really wanted to be awake for anything short of a full-scale invasion or emergency. Of course, he knew he should just take the day off and recuperate before rushing back at full speed. If he knew Shikamaru at all, he was going to be looking at him and muttering "troublesome" the moment he stepped in his office, even if it was only for a moment. Tired, no exhausted as he was, he felt like that was probably the most he could accomplish. He was sure that he would be seriously backlogged with all that paperwork if he didn't try and split the task amongst some shadow clones or try and beg someone to let him have _just one day_ before he passes out from an inability to merely stay awake. He had a list of things to do, but he wasn't getting them done today...probably.

"Sasuke, the spare room-" Naruto mumbled, rubbing his eyes harder than he probably should.

He was more than likely going to be up at least a few more hours, if not longer. At least his friend would be able to sleep, though. Sasuke gave him an incredulous glance and stood a bit slower than usual, making Naruto glance at the table. He knew how prideful of a person his friend had always been, and so he had to force himself to remain where he was. He knew that he wouldn't want the help unless it was absolutely necessary. They'd both changed a lot over the years, but their core personalities hadn't changed after all. He'd never tell Sasuke how guilty he had been feeling over this past battle. They were after him, and there were so many casualties. He'd have to ask Sakura at some point, but he needed the numbers of fatalities as well. He protected everyone in the village, yes, but at what cost? This felt like the Akatsuki all over again, as they were only ever after the tailed beast and their jinchuriki. He shook his head, trying to rid himself of such negative thoughts as he watched Sasuke go to where the rest of his family was hopefully still sleeping. He wasn't so naive as to think that his friend didn't at least pick up that something was wrong. They knew each other inside and out, as brothers and as friends. They had been through a lot and come through the other side for the better, just not as scar-free as they'd hoped.

Naruto sighed and tried not to cringe as he heard the loud noises from the next room. He knew that the whole house was probably just as tired as he was, if not more. He needed to somehow get Himawari and then convince her to quiet down. Then again, leaving a note for Hinata and leaving the house altogether was an easier option. Writing a quick note, he made sure to read it twice just in case. You missed things when you're tired, after all. Checking the room that was undoubtedly a mess, he saw the tornado that was his girl. Sasuke wasn't wrong, he supposed.

"Himawari, would you come here for a minute?" he asked quietly, hoping she'd notice how much he wanted to just let things be quiet for a little while. The girl in question was indeed smart, but she could, unfortunately, count the times she'd seen her father this week on one hand. So, Naruto couldn't exactly blame her for her excitement, he just wished it was a little more...controlled.

"Daddy!" she squealed, making him look around in a slight bit of paranoia. He _really_ hoped no one heard that. He noticed she was fully ready for the day, so he cast all of his not-so-carefully-laid plans aside and covered her mouth.

"How about we play a game together?" he asked, making sure to look really excited.

Himawari gasped and started to jump up and down, obviously about to let loose another squeal of excitement. Naruto gently covered her mouth and shushed her, like it was all a part of their game.

"We're going to be sneaky ninjas today, alright?"

She nodded, covering her mouth, in what Naruto would never admit that he thought was absolutely cute. She looked absolutely confused as they both made their way to the door and left. He knew that he shouldn't take her too far, maybe to Shikamaru or Ino. Either way, they still had breakfast to eat. It wasn't the healthiest, but it Ichiraku's was the only place he knew of that would be perfectly fine. Hinata probably wouldn't like that she wasn't eating a balanced breakfast, but he couldn't exactly cook at home. They were still in a complete blessed silence two blocks away from the house, when she yanked on his shirt. Swallowing a yawn, he nodded to Himawari, signaling that she was free to talk now. Dancing around in circles, she started celebrating, making Naruto wary of all the energy she possessed. It must be something she got from Hinata, because he _definitely_ was not a morning person. Shaking his head in what was likely a mix of shock and slight amusement, he leads her into the shop to "congratulate her on a mission completed".

Hinata gasped at the time and dashed around her room getting ready as fast as she was able to. She couldn't find Himawari anywhere and Naruto was gone too, probably at work already. Sakura wouldn't be happy about that when she woke up, and it seemed that Sasuke had either gone to the spare room as well or back to their house. Initially, she had been rather surprised by the lack of noise in the house, as she had become so accustomed to it. However, this morning is was eerily quiet and it disturbed her. After checking on Boruto and checking the house once more, the note that Naruto catches her eyes.

 _A goodbye note is fairly rare these days, but he probably didn't want to wake anyone else up._

"You should read it." a voice said from behind her, making her almost drop the note. She wasn't exactly sure when, but Sasuke had managed to not only get behind her but freeze up as she did in their academy days. Perfect. "Why do you look so guilty? He left it for you to read and its not that often he leaves one before going to work these days."

"Where is he, Sasuke? He's not at work, is he?"

"I don't know, exactly. But I do know that his handwriting is really bad when he's tired, especially when there's a kid who is just about as loud as he used to be."

Quelling the desire to roll her eyes, she wasn't sure whether to be skeptical or maybe just a little defensive in this situation. She felt kind of embarrassed, being cornered like this. Opening the note slowly, she saw Naruto's very messy handwriting and squinted. She could only make out every other…

Sasuke raised his visible eyebrow and sighed; unfortunately knowing her predicament all too well. He had had to suffer the headaches of trying to decipher the idiot's deplorable handwriting (if it could even be called that at times) when he was in a hurry. Hinata blinked a few times as he held out his hand, demanding the note. He sincerely doubted that the dobe put anything in there that he shouldn't read; in fact, he probably knew that this exact situation was happening and was laughing about it. That dobe.

Hinata was sure that Sasuke had probably read plenty of Naruto's notes before and knew that letting him read it would be the best choice. Afterward, she would admit that she didn't even remember handing over the note and that it just seemed more...automatic. Sasuke glanced at it and then turned it a few degrees as the letters seemed to slant, as Naruto's handwriting gave away just how exhausted he really was.

"He's taken Himawari out with him because she was being exceptionally loud," he told her, without preamble.

Hinata sighed audibly in relief, feeling a great deal of weight fall off of her shoulders at those words.

"Did he take her to work with him?"

"No, not yet at least. They went out to eat, or at least that's what they were doing when he wrote this note. But that was probably an hour or so ago by now."

"Where would they have-"

"Do you really have to ask?" Sasuke mumbled, going towards the door.

"Sasuke, where are you going?" she asked, surprised at his sudden movement.

"I'm going to get Himawari, now that you're awake to keep her quiet. Keep an eye on the kid," he said, opening the door. Hinata walked after him, barely able to catch up before he left.

"What about Naruto, though?"

"What about him?" he said, trying to appear aloof and indifferent. He was tired and just wanted to drag the dobe back to his house more than anything. "He'll be stubborn about things and there's nothing to be done about that." he finished saying, before taking off.

-Currently-

Naruto was barely managing to stay awake, knowing that Himawari wanted him up to play. He knew that he had more or less told Boruto that he'd try to be around more. He had been ignoring everyone for a good while now, and he wasn't sure how intentional it had actually been. He had been trying his best all day to be around Himawari and give her his full attention, as he hadn't been around, let alone that birthday disaster…

"Daddy!" Himawari yelled, trying to get his attention.

He had gotten lost in his thoughts again, he knew. Normally that could've been really dangerous, but he knew that there were ANBU scattered around the area. They were undoubtedly aware of their Hokage's state and were keeping a closer eye on both of them and their surroundings as a result. Naruto was really quite thankful for this, even if it was just a precautionary measure. Smiling wanly, he wearingly made his way over to the swings. He wasn't sure if she could even sense how much he wanted to sleep, but he would persevere regardless.

"Push me on the swings!" she demanded, puffing her cheeks out cutely. It reminded him of Hinata when she was trying not to be irritated about something. He very adamantly had decided not to laugh. _That would be outright dangerous._

As he started to push her on the swings, he felt a chakra approaching with a subtle feeling that he couldn't describe. He subtly looked at where he knew a few of the ANBU were and saw that they had barely moved. Mere moments later, he saw his best friend out of the corner of his eye, looking vaguely irritated. To anyone else, he just looked indifferent and maybe a little annoyed. But he knew his friend like no one else, and so he was "forced" to stop pushing Himawari for the moment. The moment he stopped, she started pouting; until she saw Sasuke, which made Naruto cough. His friend didn't even _bother_ trying to hide his irritation at that point.

"Stop laughing, dobe. Your wife couldn't find Himawari and figured you went to work. She could hardly make out that horrible scribbling that you call writing."

Naruto dropped all traces of amusement upon hearing what had happened. Of course, he had thought she could read it. It couldn't have been _that_ bad, could it?

"I had to read it for her, idiot. Of course, it was bad!"

Naruto scowled at him while trying not to blush in embarrassment. He hated how well they knew each other sometimes. It got seriously irritating.

"Why are you even here?"

"Sometimes I wonder if you listen to anything I say. I know that you're probably already planning to go into work for at least a couple of hours, so I'm not going to bother. But I'm taking her back to the house, at the very least." Sasuke told him, sounding both bored and unamused simultaneously. Yeah, knowing each other so well could be a real pain in the-

"Fine, but just so you know I was so not planning to-"

"You were too, you moron. You were probably thinking about what my idiot apprentice should have as a punishment, let alone those two idiots that kept interfering the other day."

Naruto opened his mouth to retort when he noticed that Himawari seemed disappointed by the news. He outright glared at his friend for being so blunt in front of her. He knew it was just his friend's personality, but seriously. He was feeling the beginning of a headache starting to form as the mere thought of everything he needed to be done seemed absolutely unnerving to even think about. Looking down at her, he inwardly flinched at the hopeful look she had. He knew that all she wanted was his attention, and it was a look that he knew all too well. He sensed Sasuke make a visible effort not to react in any way. He didn't want to send her home with Sasuke, but he had things to get done. Mentally preparing himself for the worst, he tried not to be too incredibly harsh or blunt. Of course, he hadn't been called the number one hyperactive knucklehead ninja for nothing.

"I need to get some things done before I come back home, but I have another mission for you."

He could practically hear Sasuke's _what do you mean "another"?_

"I want you to tell Boruto as soon as he wakes up that he is supposed to come to the tower immediately." he continued and then grabbed her small hand to walk her towards the entrance of the park. He'd take her that far, and then say his goodbyes. Leaning down, he said his farewells and nodded silently to his friend. He took off at a slightly slower pace, dreading his arrival and everything that had to be done. He could practically hear Shikamaru already.

~Two hours later~

Naruto had been doing some work at a more sedate pace than normal and had seen a few people in his office. It had thankfully been a slow day thus far, but he wasn't looking forward to what was coming in the future. He had been doing his work with one clone for a while, so that he could be free to think on his own about a few predicaments. He wanted to get things done, but he knew that he needed to figure these things out.

He heard Boruto knock and then basically invite himself in, and Naruto found himself too tired to care. Plus, he had told him that he was not going to lecture him as much...basically. The tension wasn't nearly as bad as it used to be, but it wasn't gone entirely either. He obviously knew that there was going to be consequences for what he had done, and helping in that battle with the five kage was just the beginning. Naruto struggled to hold down a smirk when looking at Boruto, who was looking uncomfortable. Oh, he had _no idea._

"So, I assume that you know why you're here," Naruto told him, switching into Hokage mode without warning.

"Yeah, I guess it has to do with the other day and me cheating. But I don't get why you're doing this! I helped in that battle! Isn't that enough?!" Boruto asked, his voice rising in volume. Naruto raised his eyebrows in warning, letting him know he needed to tone it down. This was his office, not the house.

"Yes, it is about the cheating. And while I do appreciate you helping in the battle, that does not negate the damage done or the fact that you broke the rules in the first place," he stated in a flat and slightly unforgiving tone. It shocked Boruto to his core because he had never heard it before, but he hadn't forgotten the guilt that he felt when he had thought his father was gone. However, Naruto wasn't done. "Also, should I let everyone who breaks the rules or the law like that get away with it because they helped me? You need to learn that things in life don't come with cheat codes."

He watched as his son looked down and almost rushed around the desk to hug him, but he knew that he had to stay firm. He had decided that D missions were the best way for him to get his hands dirty. He was admittedly surprised when Boruto abruptly raised his head with a very familiar determined look in his eyes. While his eyes were obviously damp, they hadn't lost their sharpness. This time, Naruto didn't bother trying to hide his smirk. Boruto would not even _think_ about cheating or breaking rules after he was done. He saw Sasuke stroll in, casual as you please and rolled his eyes in a very informal manner.

"You sure took your time, didn't you? Sometimes I think you're worse than Kakashi!" he yelled, standing and pointing his finger at his former teammate. Boruto felt shocked at the sudden change in atmosphere but could see that his teacher was looking back at him in an unresponsive manner. If anything, he almost looked...amused?

"I don't think anyone can be _that_ bad. Kakashi makes more excuses than anyone I've ever known," he responded, barely bothered by the fact that there was a finger mere inches from his face. For the two of them, it was more about releasing tension than an actual fight, which had actually never gotten farther than an odd spar or two these days. Anyone who didn't know them probably thought they were trying not to kill each other daily, though, present company included.

"Fine, then," Naruto muttered, feeling his energy hit an all-time low. "What is it? Why are you so late? You were sleeping or something?"

"I just felt like making you do it."

Naruto glared with a baleful edge, making Boruto start to slowly creep towards the door. Taking a deep breath, Naruto mumbled several words Tsunade would've undoubtedly put him through the wall for saying.

"We're not done. Sasuke is here for you, not me. As your sensei, he chooses your punishment. Of course, as the Hokage, I have my own separate one assigned for you. Your welcome. He's all yours, Sasuke. I'm sure you already know his punishment from me."

As he saw Boruto's jaw slacken, he shook his head. Sasuke was outright vindictive when it came to the people close to him being hurt. It was undoubtedly a good part of the reason for him being in such a mood. That and the serious lack of sleep and recovery time they'd both been needing. All he could do was watch as his friend grabbed his son's ear and dragged him a few feet before shoving him out the door. Naruto winced, glad he wasn't on the other side of _that_ temper before a shiver went down his spine. Sakura. Oh. Crap. Neither one of them had gotten checked out. The door was left open as Shikamaru watched them leave and then went in the office himself, looking at Naruto with an almost impressed look.

"What's the look for?" Naruto asked, looking at him with a peculiar expression. Shikamaru was so strange sometimes.

"What did you do to make him so mad?"

 _Oh._

"He's tired and doesn't feel like dealing with his student's nonsense. I'm sure that his punishment isn't going to be particularly...painless."

Shikamaru raised his eyebrows in understanding and winced in sympathy for the kid, although he knew that he needed to learn his lesson. He wasn't going to enjoy the next few weeks...or even a month if his sensei was feeling really cruel. Looking at the Hokage, who was usually fairly intense and passionate; the Nara couldn't help but notice how glazed over and dull his eyes seemed to be. It was outright disconcerting and it made him shiver because it made him remember some days in the past that he'd rather just forget. It had been a long time coming, but Naruto was bound to crash one of these days. Of course, _he'd_ have to be the one to face Sakura when it eventually happened. What a drag. He knew that the only way the idiot would go home was if those morons from the Scientific Ninja Weapons Team. He wasn't really sure how it would turn out, but it didn't look good at the moment.

Naruto looked curious, as his friend and advisor had been looking at him silently for a few moments longer than necessary but shook it off. He couldn't do anything about it, he supposed.

"So, I guess you won't be going home until you deal with Katasuke?" Shikamaru asked, trying to come off as indifferent and casual as possible.

In reality, he knew that they were both dreading the whole affair. It was a mess, and they knew it. The whole affair had been a disaster.* Not only had he coerced Boruto into cheating, but he had followed Sasuke and the others on the retrieval squad; this had, of course, led to all of the kage being trapped after they had all but defeated him. And the results were staring him right in his face, looking like he was barely standing. A knock on the still opened door startled the two out of their thoughts. Looking at each other, Shikamaru took the silent signal for what it was and went to stand by the desk. It wasn't that he expected a violent reaction, as much as he was just lost as to what he should do about all of this. Here he had someone who was highly intelligent, if not a little eccentric at times. It was just like with Boruto, it seems.

 _And yet...will any of them truly learn if I keep being so lenient like this? Sasuke's right. I'm too soft._

Standing up, he faced the window and felt more tired than ever. He could only wonder what was taking Kurama so long, and how much had really been drained before that fight. Ah, well. Looking at Shikamaru, he could tell how much he was giving away, just by his expression and turned to look at Katasuke. He couldn't tell if he even felt sorry about the whole incident, but he was leaning towards no. Schooling his expression, he took the inevitable dive.

"Before we talk about what's going to happen, I need to know why did you do this? You could have caused-"

"It was all for the sake of discovering if it would work, of course!" Katasuke rudely interrupted. "We were trying to get it on film, of course."

"The Kote, you mean?" Shikamaru asked although he was pretty sure he already knew. "And I suppose that the one that collected the data for you was Kosuke?"

Naruto wasn't all that surprised either, as the both of them had had a front seat as Katasuke had tried to document everything in the arena and in the other dimension. The man merely smiled proudly, obviously hoping that everything had been carefully and correctly documented. Naruto was just silently hoping the thing had been destroyed.

"Yes, of course, all of the data that wasn't destroyed has been put-"

"We'll need both the originals and the copies that you were thinking of giving us. Everything involving the Kote and it's disastrous debut are going to be sent here or else an ANBU can be sent there to collect it. Your choice. And don't think about making copies to keep, either, because Intelligence will be sweeping by there for random people. That includes you, of course." Shikamaru said in a monotone voice, glancing subtly at his friend to make sure he agreed. With no reaction in sight, he decided that unless Naruto disagreed with something he said, he'd continue.

"Surely there's no reason for something so drastic, right? My inventions have always benefited-"

Shikamaru bit back a scathing reply and unconsciously backed up a foot or so when he felt the killing intent radiating off of Naruto in waves. He did try his best not to sweat at the intensity, even if it had only lasted for a moment or two. It rarely happened, but he always knew it was better to just get out of the way when it did.

"People got hurt and I have no idea if any were killed yet!" Shikamaru winced at the proximity, knowing that he was just getting started. Starting a fight with him was something he never wanted to bother with, that's for sure. "You and that stupid invention could have gotten everyone at the arena killed. To make things _worse_ , you followed everyone to the other dimension and when we had the upper hand, you went and got us cornered by Momoshiki!" Naruto yelled, breathing hard. Shikamaru narrowed his eyes, not liking this particular development. This was not good at all. If Naruto kept going like this, he was going to end up collapsing right in front of this idiot. It wasn't as if he wanted to step into Naruto's "line of fire" at the moment, but he had to stop this before things got much worse. Such a drag.

"Naruto, that's enough for now. Let ANBU take him until it's his turn to see Inoichi." He knew that stepping in like this could possibly be considered something dangerously close to either siding with Katasuke at best; or insubordination at the very worst. He hoped it wouldn't come to that, but Naruto wasn't in the greatest of moods at the moment. He looked at him straight in the eyes unflinchingly, regardless of the consequences. Naruto glared at him for a minute, before conceding and letting Katasuke be taken away.

Naruto knew that his friend was right, as he usually was; it was why he was an advisor, but it still annoyed him. Honestly, it _had_ been the initial reason for him making him stay behind instead of leaving like he usually would. Man, he felt tired; almost like he could sleep for-

"Naruto? Are you okay? You should be heading home, right?"

"Yeah...I told Himawari I'd go home and see her." Naruto said, going around the desk and walking unsteadily. Shikamaru tried not to jump forward and help but instead prepared to catch him when he needed to. "Yeah."

"Naruto, maybe you should talk to Sakura first. I saw her this afternoon and she wanted to check on you." A small lie, but one that would hopefully get his oh-so-stubborn friend to see reason before he inevitably passed out on the office floor. Of course, it seemed that life always did like to rudely smack people upside the head. He could only watch as Naruto started to collapse towards the floor and barely had the time to rush forward to catch him and put him on the ground. "Idiot." he mumbled, before getting one of the ANBU to get Sakura. He was sure that Sakura would at least wait until her friend was awake before she hit him. He probably wouldn't be as fortunate. This was such a drag.

*I'm not going for the 'encounter with Kara' in this, as it's really not made obvious in the movie as much af the manga.

A/N: Well, that was _a lot_ longer than I'd initially anticipated. o_O I was thinking maybe 1k or so, but not anywhere near 5.5k! This is undoubtedly my longest one shot ever, let alone the longest I've ever done at once. I'm going to try and probably attack my NCIS one next...or maybe my HTTYD. Meh.


	2. Aren't We All in Trouble?

A/N: I'm not sure exactly how long this is going to end up being, as this is probably just going to be the conclusion to a spontaneous one-shot that occurred after I initially watched the movie the first time. Who knows? I just think I watched it and thought about Boruto had basically gotten a free pass after all that had happened, which was probably because Naruto felt guilty it had gotten to that point. Anywho...this part is going to focus more on Naruto (and possibly) Sasuke's consequences, along with the punishment of our delinquents. It may even have a surprise or two thrown in. Of course, this will have both guilty parties probably involved, so that'll go well T.T

Chapter Two: Aren't We _All_ in Trouble?

Shikamaru sighed as he saw Sakura come towards Naruto's office, trying to act as nonchalant as possible. Truthfully, he had never wanted to kill his friend as much as he did right now; because as much as he got along with Naruto, sometimes he still wanted to chunk a kunai or two at him. As much as he feared getting on the Hokage's bad side, he knew his old teammate wasn't that much better. The medic ninja was just as scary as Tsunade ever was, and he'd once heard that she'd knocked Naruto out cold for several hours barehanded. As Sakura's killing intent got closer, Shikamaru looked out the window and sighed. There was no way he was going to escape a tongue lashing at the very least and probably a punch. If he tried to defend Naruto or even himself it'd only be twice as bad, and he knew better than to go home and expect some sort of sympathy.

"BAKA!" Sakura yelled, making him flinch involuntarily. She came into the office looking somewhere between extremely ticked off and concerned, but it was always hard to tell. At this point, he wasn't even sure which one of them she was referring to but he was a little too afraid to ask. As Sakura knelt next to Naruto on the floor and checked him over, she started making a diagnosis.

 _Chakra depletion and a slight fever, probably brought on by exhaustion._

"Naruto, wake up for a minute." Sakura demanded, waiting for some sign of him trying to wake up. After two or three minutes of no reaction, Sakura focused all her attention on Shikamaru; giving him a sharp glare and drawing herself back up to her full height. "Shikamaru, what is he doing on the floor?"

"Well, he-" Shikamaru started, knowing no explanation was going to get him out of whatever trouble he was in. _What a drag_.

"He shouldn't be on the floor! You should've put him on the couch and cushioned his head! He has a fever! Luckily enough, he didn't hit his head!"

 _Yeah, because I caught the moron before he hit the ground._

"Tell me why he's even here in the first place and not at the house resting." Sakura said, fuming. "His chakra level is lower than I've ever seen it, which means something happened over there. He shouldn't have even left the house and neither should Sasuke."

Shikamaru kept a neutral look while the image of Sasuke dragging Boruto out of the office by his ear came into his mind.

"Did you know Sasuke came here then?"

"No, but that doesn't surprise me. We'll discuss this later, but right now Naruto needs a room at the hospital." Sakura said, kneeling next to Naruto again and running her fingers through his hair absentmindedly. "I want his room surrounded by ANBU the entire time he's there, is that understood?"

"Sakura?" Naruto asked, his eyes barely open. He was exhausted and his body felt like Gaara had piled all his sand on top of him. 'Himawari...she was going…" he continued, trailing off.

"Naruto, stay awake for a min-" Sakura tried, but stopped when she saw her friend was unconscious once again. Oh well. She needed to get him to the hospital and it didn't matter that it wasn't that serious. She didn't trust the greedy Ninja Weapons Team to not try and hurt him when his guard was down. She saw Shikamaru connecting the dots, as he always tended to do.

"You don't think they'd take it that far, do you?" Shikamaru asked quietly, making sure no one had heard.

Sakura merely shrugged her shoulders non committed way, not on one side of the line or the other.

"It's possible they'd try and do it while they still had that project of theirs. They may try and hide one and attack him in the hospital. He won't like it, but I'd rather be over prepared. As a safety precaution, maybe a few should watch the family." he told her, not afraid of overwhelming her in the least. They had all dealt with far worse in the past.

"Regardless, he'll be in a private room with ANBU at each exit and if he overreacts, tell me. I'll...explain the situation."

 _I'm sure that's all you'll be doing, Sakura. He'll probably need to be put into intensive care if you "explain things"._

Shikamaru nodded, getting the details with the ANBU arranged while she got Naruto to the hospital. He wasn't sure whether he should feel relieved she was gone or stressed, knowing that his friend could possibly be a target for assassination _again_.

\- XD Boruto is doomed T.T -

Sasuke had yet to let go of the kid's ear, even as they approached the training grounds on the farthest ends of the village. Boruto thought about complaining, but remembered the few times he had listened to the old man about his sensei and shivered. He was already pretty ticked off and Boruto wasn't quite sure he wanted to test his survival instincts against someone like that. If his dad had given him one shred of good advice it was to listen to his sensei, and he wasn't about to try anything. It was bad enough that he was back to being on those pathetic missions until his father pretty much said otherwise. Holding back a sigh, he almost didn't feel Sasuke stop pulling his ear as they arrived at the training grounds. He was so screwed.

Sasuke stopped pulling Boruto just to shove him several feet in front of him. He was _not_ in a good mood, but he knew that the kid needed a good deal of discipline before something even worse than the other day happened. He had felt Naruto's killing intent skyrocket as they were walking and tried to show no reaction, but he might have practically tugged the poor kid a pace or two faster. He was sure Shikamaru had taken care of it, but he was slightly wary of how quickly it had cut off like it hadn't even happened in the first place. As soon as Boruto was squared away and undoubtedly scared to move without his say so, he was checking on the moron. This kid was about to be sorry that he had ever stepped a toe out of line on his watch.

"Boruto Uzumaki!" Sasuke yelled, calling the kid to attention. The poor kid probably jumped about ten feet in the air, but he knew better than to try and mess up at this point. "Today you'll be running the perimeter of a pre-marked trail running throughout the village and will not stop until I say so. If you do, there will be a punishment and believe me when I say _you will not like it._ Boruto gulped, having a distinct feeling that that was the reason he was dragged all the way out here. "Consider yourself lucky your dad was nice enough to let you sleep in, because tomorrow you will be getting up when he does."

The look on his face almost made Sasuke smirk, considering that Boruto knew good and well how early his father got up on the days he made it home. His schedule for the next month or so was probably going to make him want to beg Naruto for help. It did, however, make his old sensei Kakashi smile at the sight of Naruto's son having the exact same look his dad did when he was his age. Of course, he also knew that telling Boruto that he was practically a carbon copy of his dad was the best way to anger him immensely. On the other hand, Sasuke had said that he had mentioned it to Naruto once and been told that they were basically nothing alike. Either way, he had to say that he was going to enjoy this quite a bit.

-Jump skip and a hop to 3.5 hours later-

Boruto had finally collapsed in the middle of the trail, feeling exhausted. He felt a sense of dread, knowing that his sensei had not told him he could stop yet; but as he looked around he didn't see him anywhere and sighed a breath of relief. He took a drink of water that his sensei was _kind enough_ to give him, basically so he wouldn't die of heat stroke. He went to sit down and somehow ended up right back at the same training grounds with his teacher resting underneath a tree.

 _How is that fair? I have to run for hours and he gets to sleep!_

"I see that you lasted at least a few hours, so that's more than I thought a pampered son of the hokage would last."

Boruto jumped, not expecting Sasuke to be speaking with his eyes closed before trying to jump to his own defense.

"Well, I was exhausted! How long did you expect me to run for, anyway? Besides, I don't see _you_ doing any of the running. You're just sleeping! How did I get back here anyway?" he ranted on, looking around him.

"You are my student and I am your teacher. I am not obliged to tell you anything, just as you cannot go around demanding answers whenever you want to. Hokage's son or not, you can't just demand to have the answers every single time it suits you. You are on probation and not even your father will bother interfering on this one." Sasuke told him flatly, in a no-nonsensical tone. "He agreed to my terms before knowing what they were, in fact."

Boruto gaped, unsure of how to take that particular piece of information. His old man wouldn't go as far as to let his sensei just go and do whatever he wants, would he? He was still his son!

"Don't read into it." Sasuke said, as if sensing his thoughts. "Naruto and I have known each other since our academy days and we trust each other explicitly. He knows I'd never harm you...intentionally." Boruto paled a bit at the dry tone, and wasn't quite sure if he should go home and ask his dad. That'd be pathetic, but his old man did say he'd have a shorter day today. "Now, since you stopped before I told you to; it's time for your punishment."

Sasuke took off his cloak and Boruto had a quick flashback to the battle, remembering what exactly his sensei was capable of doing. It took all of his power not to run away, but he won't deny that he might have stepped back quite a few steps.

"Now Boruto, you will learn not to disobey an order from your sensei." Sasuke said as he created four shadow clones and attacked.

-Konoha Hospital-

Sakura worked under the guard of several ANBU in Naruto's room, making sure that he was recovering. She was still not impressed with him going into work to deal with everything that had happened the other day. Surely, it could have waited until he had rested enough to deal with it after such a big drainage from the two battles. Right now, there was nothing more she wanted to do than to hit him on the head. She still needed to tell Hinata, but what about Himawari and Boruto? Boruto was currently being punished by Sasuke, quite brutally if the numbers of laps she had seen were any indication. She grimaced, knowing the kid was bound to have injuries and be beyond exhausted if he even managed to make it here in the first place. Having done another check on him, she discovered that Naruto's fever had turned into a slight cold but was nothing too serious. If he rested more often and ate something with actual vitamins, he wouldn't have gotten sick; of course, Shikamaru had to stick him on the bare floor…

She told one of the guards to fetch Sasuke and Boruto at once, not quite indicating that it wasn't an emergency. She'd let them get Hinata and Himawari later, but Boruto could use the time with his dad anyway. Doing some more rounds, she could do nothing but wait for them to arrive at the hospital.

-The training grounds-

Boruto tried keeping up, but his sensei was feeling quite vindictive and had seemingly been distracted before. He wasn't about to bring it up, but when he had tried to take on Sasuke's shadow clones with his own; he was yelled at by his sensei and told he wasn't allowed to use anything but basic taijutsu. Boruto wanted to scream and yell at how unfair that was, but that would take way too much energy that he didn't have. He'd already collapsed once and couldn't get back up, so his sensei was _nice enough_ to give him a two minute break before adding another clone. When Sasuke's clones suddenly all disappeared, he wasn't sure whether he should feel relief or dread; especially when one of the ANBU appeared next to him. Walking up to Sasuke, he delivered a message that made Sasuke lose his usually calm composure for a moment and mumble something in return. The ANBU merely shook his head, which made his sensei sigh inaudibly and nod.

"We'll be right there." was the first thing in the whole exchange Boruto had heard. "Go on ahead back and we'll be right behind you." As much as Boruto wanted to ask about it, he knew that if he did he might get yelled at again.

After they were left alone again, Boruto was confused when the clones didn't reappear. It must have shown on his face, because Sasuke looked at him with a solemn stare.

"Follow me. We are going to the hospital to see someone."

Upon hearing that, Boruto automatically thought back to his mom having had something wrong, or maybe something had happened at home to Himawari. Somehow, it just never really occurred to him that something could happen to the old man so soon after yesterday. It didn't seem feasible. After all, he had just seen him in his office several hours ago and the man seemed just fine for the most part. He looked pretty tired for the most part, but...he always looked like that these days.

-Konoha Hospital-

Sakura saw the ANBU come back without Sasuke or Boruto, but was told they were right after him. She told the ANBU to wait a few hours before going to get Hinata and Himawari. She didn't explain and the man didn't question it, just going back to his post. Seeing a frantic Boruto following a semi-calm Sasuke, Sakura went to meet them and take them to Naruto's room. Boruto held his silence for a very Naruto-like period of time before giving her a rapid fire interrogation.

"Is it Himawari or maybe Mom? What happened? Why are they in a private room? What's going on?"

Sakura ignored him for a moment in favor of glaring at Sasuke before answering.

"Baka! You mean to tell me that you just dragged him all the way here without telling him anything?!" Several heads turned at the increase in volume before quickly turning away. A lot of them had learned the hard way the disadvantages of being on Sakura's bad side. Turning to Boruto, she sighed and shook her head. No, Boruto. Nothing has happened to any of them. It's Naruto."

"But that doesn't-" Boruto stammered, not quite comprehending what could have possibly happened. "I mean, I _just saw him_ a few hours ago!"

Sakura put her arm around his shoulder and guided him the rest of the way to Naruto's room, and opened the door to let him inside. Boruto stood in a rigid pose, not sure what to make of the form lying on the bed. His cheeks were slightly red, meaning he obviously had a fever of some kind and was even possibly sick. What could be wrong with him? He walked ever so slowly towards the bed, barely noticing the ANBU or Sakura walking around the bed. Sasuke looked over at his friend and sighed. He knew it wasn't serious, but he still felt uneasy. He wouldn't be able to rest peacefully until Naruto was safely out of here and recovered. He hadn't been all that surprised that the idiot had finally collapsed, seeing as he'd gotten even less sleep than he did. As much as he didn't want to, he left Boruto by himself with Sakura and sat on the floor with his sword laying within arms reach. He felt Sakura put a blanket on him, as she obviously didn't want another patient.

Sakura was a little bit worried about the way that Boruto was reacting to Naruto having to be here in the hospital for however long it would take. He'd been quiet and hadn't even asked what was wrong with his father. She knew that dispite his uncaring and indifferent personality towards his dad that he really did care; as she had briefly heard how hard he had taken the news of his father's "death" and sacrifice for everyone in the village. She quietly stepped forward and gently guided him towards a chair that was next to the bed. The poor kid was obviously in shock, which wasn't too hard to believe considering the circumstances. She was so absorbed in her thoughts that she almost didn't hear what the kid said next, or asked more like.

"How could this happen? I was just with him earlier today and he was fine. It just...doesn't make sense."

Sakura sighed, as her eyes softened at his confusion. He had likely never seen Naruto like this, as his father had never allowed his family to see how the weight of being the hokage had really affected him. He had never seen him so vulnerable before, but she knew that even growing up together she was barely able to see it either. So many years that they knew each other and it had taken so long for him to let his defenses down. She sometimes wondered what would happen if Boruto knew about Naruto's past, but she could never betray one of her closest friends like that. She had put him in enough pain throughout the years, and so had his sensei; she did wonder how long it would be until he accidentally found out about everything that had happened between the two of them. Looking at Boruto now, she wasn't sure he could handle it if it happened anytime soon. As Sakura approached the different machines and took notes, Boruto looked up at her and asked her the silent question 'is he okay?'.

"He has a slightly higher fever, which is a little concerning; I think it's because of the battles he was forced into, but also because of how much Momoshiki tried to drain. Of course, I suppose it doesn't help that he tried to go into work to take care of that important business with so little sleep. I knew something like this would happen; I was just hoping it wouldn't happen today. If we're lucky, this cold is something that will go away on it's own." Sakura said, frowning as she looked down at Naruto. His breathing was a little too labored for her liking. "I'm going to have to put him on oxygen, just to be on the safe side. I'll put a higher dose of antibiotics, considering Kurama doesn't seem to be up to speed quite yet."

"Is that why he has all of these ANBU guys here? Is it because he is in the hospital and can't defend himself?" Boruto asked, frowning at the mere prospect of someone who was as strong as him being completely defenseless and vulnerable like this. He saw Sarada's mom frown, like she was thinking about whether or not she should tell him something. "Whatever is going on is probably important if these guys are here! What about Mom and Himawari?! Are they in trouble too?" Sakura glared at him, before pinching his ear. Boruto yelped as she looked at him like Sarada did whenever she got mad at him.

"You listen here, brat. If you need to know, I will tell you. But as of right now, you _don't_. If you cannot be quiet, then I will remove you _by force_. And believe me when I tell you, I have absolutely no qualms about merely tossing you out of the window." Sakura whispered in his hurting ear, before letting go. Something told him that she didn't care that they weren't on the first floor at all. He nodded silently as he remembered what his sensei had told him earlier about asking for information.

" _You are my student and I am your teacher. I am not obliged to tell you anything, just as you cannot go around demanding answers whenever you want to. Hokage's son or not, you can't just demand to have the answers every single time it suits you."_

He looked at his dad and reached out reluctantly without touching him, before withdrawing a moment later. It wasn't that he hated him or anything. They had more or less patched things up, but he didn't want to touch him if he was going to end up causing him more pain than necessary.

Sakura grabbed his hand before he could fully withdraw, making him flinch slightly. She held his hand for a moment and pulled it back towards Naruto, holding all three of them together for a moment. Boruto tried to pull back again, but she didn't let him.

"Don't worry, Boruto. You won't hurt him. In fact, if you sit and talk with him, he may wake up sooner. I know that you are trying to get along better, so why don't you try and talk a bit? I'll be back in a little while." Sakura told him before leaving the room.

Boruto merely let his hand rest on his father's arm, trying to avoid the IV and sat silently before he started talking about random stuff just to have something to do. He thought he felt something jerk against his hand but wrote it off as nothing until he saw the old man weakly squeezing his hand.

"Boruto?" Naruto rasped, feeling just as exhausted as ever and yet having the feeling that he needed to stay awake for his son's sake. They were just starting to get along and he could sense how uneasy the kid really was.

"Dad! You're awake!" Boruto practically yelled, before he looked around frantically.

Naruto laughed weakly before going into a coughing fit that lasted a minute or so. Naruto saw Sakura run towards him and check on him before letting him have a little water. Naruto looked around the room lethargically, noticing the ANBU before feeling himself being dragged into unconsciousness once more. Sakura put an oxygen mask on him before backing away and giving him a warning glare that he didn't have the capacity to decipher at the moment. He looked at her questioningly, not even quite sure what he was asking about before he fell back asleep. Boruto looked at his dad worriedly and then at Sakura, not liking his coughing and the fact that he had fallen asleep so fast after waking up. Sakura wasn't as worried as he was, but glanced back at where Sasuke was resting. He had opened his eyes and was looking waringly at the bed where his friend was. He'd never admit it out loud, but Naruto did have him a _bit_ worried. Sakura didn't seem too overly concerned, though, so he didn't say anything.

-Uzumaki Residence-

An ANBU had showed up at the house, making a chill go down Hinata's spine; especially after she had gotten the news of Naruto being in the hospital after collapsing in his office. When she asked why it was one of them who was telling her and not Sakura or even Sasuke, they were merely silent. She nodded to the masked man, going to fetch Himawari to take her along. She supposed that she could leave her with Ino or one of her other friends, but she deserved to go just as much as the rest of them. Finding the girl playing with some of the toys that Naruto had managed to buy her in his little spare time, she smiled sadly.

"Himawari, we need to take a trip and visit someone at the hospital." Hinata told her, starting off gently as possible.

"Who is in the hospital? Is it Daddy?" Himawari asked picking up one of her toys and walking over to her mom. Hinata stood wide eyed for a moment before nodding, bewildered at the child's insight. It was possible that it was just dumb luck, but she knew Himawari was very smart but never really had much of an opportunity to show it. Hinata slowly nodded, still feeling a bit confused but not quite willing to acknowledge it.

"Let's pack all of us a snack and go." Hinata said as she went about packing some leftovers and let Himawari come down in the next few minutes. Several minutes later, they were out the door and walking to the hospital since they weren't told that it was an emergency.

-In an Undisclosed Location-

There were voices that could be heard echoing in the dark room that was far enough away that no one would be able to hear what was said.

"Did you do it?" one voice said quietly, as if someone could hear them anyway. Another person turned to him and sighed, obviously frustrated.

"You don't have to whisper; no one can hear us way out here, you idiot."

"I guess I just feel like being super cautious. I mean, you know very well what would happen if we were to get found out."

"That's why we're meeting way out here. Now, did you manage to get a copy?"

"Ye-"

"What we _need_ are some those scrolls and a kote. Did you manage to grab one of those? Can one of you even _use_ them?" another voice interrupted the conversation, sounding beyond irritated.

"There aren't many, but that's only because I could only grab a few before Intelligence got there. It's bad enough that we have to be so secretive about all of this, but there was nothing to be done about it with him dropping the axe on us so quickly."

"Well, from what I hear on the streets this should be easy enough, since the guy has now landed himself in the hospital and all." the second voice retaliated, getting irritated at the other's pessimism. Plus, they both knew this guy was no genin.

"Very well, but we'll have to act fast. From what I know of Shikamaru, he's one of the best strategists around and is undoubtedly aware that something like this may happen."

The other two tried to hold neutral expressions at this information, but they knew it was true. Shikamaru wasn't only smart, but he was also the right hand of the hokage and a good friend of his. If this wasn't done very carefully, everything would be over before they even got started.

"What about-" the first voice started hesitatingly, "What about the family? I figure that if the hokage is in the hospital, the family is too."

"Yeah? What of it?" the darker voice asked, clearly wanting to leave this ridiculous meeting. This whole thing was stupid, but he relished in the challenge of it all.

"It's possible that if Shikamaru knows about it, he's probably has stuck a handful of ANBU on all of them; let alone in his room." he told him reasonably. "It's not going to be that easy getting in."

All three of them halted at this and realized he was probably right. Shikamaru wasn't one to leave things like that to chance. Even if it wasn't him that ordered it, there was going to be a definite challenge with things going the way they were. Outmaneuvering all of the hokage's closest allies and ANBU was going to be trickier than they initially realized.

"I wouldn't worry too much about that, although there is one of them that has me worried. I've heard that his son has Sasuke Uchiha as a sensei now. That could be troublesome."

"With his abilities, I hope you have some extra tricks up your sleeves or else you'll never be able to get in and escape with your life."

"Oh, I wouldn't worry overly much. I have a trick that they'll _never_ see coming.

TBC… o_O

Next chapter: (cause I'm totally making this up as I go)

Naruto has his entire family visit him in the hospital, making him happier than he's been in a long time. However, he can't get this feeling of overwhelming dread to go away that seems to be lurking. Is someone after him or his family?

A/N: *facepalm* I've done it again. Now I have to write another chapter, considering I just left it on such a cliffhanger. Why? I was just doing a one or maybe two shot and now I have myself a short story! How did this happen? Sigh. Sometimes I hate the way my mind works. I get a little bit of inspiration and it just goes out of control. That's how I always end up with so many fics going at one time. I still have so many ideas. I'm working on a FMA/Criminal Minds crossover, my NCIS fic, my HTTYD one and Yugioh...to name a few. This is what happens when you get writer's block.


	3. Rescue and Guilt

A/N: Alright, I know I should be working on my other fics (seriously), but I can't seem to get out of this particular fandom just yet. This may or may not be the last chapter, seeing as lately I've become more of a "just wing it" writer as of late. ^-^ Anywho, I would have probably started this last night when I got the inspiration for this chapter, but I've been sick and was just plum exhausted. Yeah, that happens when you live in the South. XD

Last chapter: Boruto was feeling the wrath of a sleep deprived and plainly vindictive Sasuke, who was dead set on making him exercise until he would probably even regret being born. In the middle of one particular punishment, Sasuke learns that Naruto is in the hospital and rushes over there with Boruto. Sakura and Sasuke generally leave the father and son alone, wanting to give them space; while there seems to be a general tense aura in the air? Just how much worse could things get?

Chapter Three: Revenge

Naruto felt generally awful and he wasn't quite sure why. He remembered being with Boruto and yet not, because he wasn't all there. It was times like these where he hid in his mindscape with Kurama so he wouldn't suffer as much. He didn't know how long he'd been out, but he knew that people were worried and once he got better he would be dealing with Sakura's wrath. He wasn't sure if he actually looked forward to it. As sick as he felt, he knew that he wasn't in the hospital anymore. He used what little strength he felt and felt several people in the immediate vicinity, a few of them were somehow familiar but he felt too exhausted to bother trying to tie it all together.

"Kurama? Why am I so tired? Where are we?" Naruto mumbled, leaning against his friend and partner. He knew Kurama usually would have brushed him away; saying something about weak humans, had he not actually been so worried...not that he'd admit it.

" **As far as I can tell, we're out of that hospital and maybe even Konoha. I feel something like those chakra rods all around us, which makes it even harder for me to heal you." (1)**

Naruto opened his eyes just barely and gasped at what he could make out in the darkness. He wasn't sure if it was day or night, as there were no windows of any kind in the immediate area, but he could make out three people in what he had to guess was a considerably large warehouse or abandoned building of some kind. As far as he knew, there wasn't anything like that in the village. Naruto inwardly sighed, knowing that Kurama was right. Wherever they were, it sure wasn't anywhere near Konoha. He could only hope that Sasuke and ANBU would find him, as he was sure that at least one of them would be a problem that he didn't have the energy to fight.

"It seems our guest has finally decided to grace us with his presence. How _very thoughtful_ of him." one voice said, somehow sounding both annoyed and exceedingly happy at the same time. It took a moment for the voice to register, until it registered.

"Katasuke?!" he yelled, causing one of them in the back to flinch. "So, I suppose that means you dragged Kosuke into this as well?" Naruto demanded, trying to put on what his friends called his "Hokage mask". The one who had been hovering near his blind spot had been conspicuously silent, which unnerved him a bit. "And I take it you are a hired hand, much like what the Akatsuki were?" As the man just remained silent, it occurred to Naruto that this was undoubtedly the reason he was no longer in Konoha. The other two might have coerced him or given him information, but it was clear there would be no intel from this guy.

Katasuke walked up to Naruto and pulled a lever, pulling him off of the bed and into the air. Naruto wasn't sure how high the ceiling was, but he could feel the weights on his feet now that he was basically suspended in the air. Were they planning on some sick plan of revenge? Now that he thought about it, he wondered how this happened. They were supposed to be with ANBU and Shikamaru would have let him know otherwise, right? He saw the scientist get something out of a bag, which made him immediately nervous. He couldn't tell what it was, but he knew it couldn't be anything good. As he approached him like a cat cornering a mouse, Naruto couldn't help but notice a red light in the back of the room. Sighing, he could only hope that this was only for science and not going to be sent back to his family and friends. He was just about to close his eyes unwillingly when a device was slammed into his stomach, making him flashback to that mission in the Land of Snow when that chakra device had been unwillingly placed onto him. He couldn't feel anything for a moment until he heard a button pressed down, making the device spark and electrocute his entire being. He tried to hold in his screams as it went on and on for what seemed like hours. Unlike the one he'd had on before, this one seemed to have nothing to do with his chakra and everything to do with torture. He vaguely heard the button click as he passed out, somewhat surprised that he hadn't actually done so earlier.

He didn't want to move anymore and he was sure he would never again try as he just leaned against the bars in his mindscape. Bars...bars...why were there bars here? There hadn't been bars here for a long time, ever since he undid his father's seal and became Kurama's friend and his partner. So why? He felt so exhausted, but he managed to crawl over to where several seals were on the cage. He tried to slowly peel one off, only to feel excruciating pain in his stomach that made him fall on his side. He looked Kurama, only to see him in what appeared to be a deep sleep.

"Kurama?" he tried, carefully reaching through the bars. He felt that excruciating pain again and backed off for a minute. They had sealed him again, separating them so that he wouldn't heal and so Kurama couldn't heal whatever they did. Bracing himself for the pain, he reached through the bars and yelled desperately. "KURAMA! WAKE UP!"

Naruto vaguely noticed one of the seals loosen and float down as he was thrown from the bars a good ten feet, landing face first. He had scrapes and burns on him from his efforts and could only hope that his friend was able to wake up now. He just wanted to go back home, and started imagining everyone's faces to help him as he was rudely awoken by a splash of water and what he thought lightning felt like course through his body.

-Konoha-

If Sasuke wasn't feeling ticked off before, he definitely was now; and he knew without a doubt that Sakura was ready to pummel the people who were responsible for taking their closest friend. She'd been yelling orders and had Shizune take over so she wouldn't kill someone. To make things worse, Boruto was now in the hospital as he had tried to stop the man from taking his dad. He supposed that he couldn't blame him, seeing as he had already been worried and now there were people trying to take his father out of revenge, no doubt. Sakura had told both him and the rest of his family that he'd only suffered a minor concussion and some bruised ribs. There was no internal bleeding or anything they had to worry about. He'd never admit it, but he had been truly worried about the kid. He was a lot like his dad, even if the kid never wanted to admit to it.

-Flashback-

Sasuke had been "forced" by Sakura to get some rest in another room, seeing as Naruto already had ANBU and Boruto. He knew Hinata and Himawari were there, but were planning on letting Boruto stay as long as Sasuke was there to watch him. As worried as Himawari was about her dad, she needed to go home with Hinata. Both Sakura and himself had told her that until Naruto was out of the hospital, both of them were going to have multiple ANBU at all times as a precaution. After _it_ happened, everyone was particularly glad they had security for the family at least. The person who did this had intel and was on ANBU level at the very least.

The ANBU had all tensed, pulling their various weapons out as they had seen heard someone on the roof. The noise was coming too close to this room to be a coincidence, and they had been warned that someone could be after the hokage. As the noise stopped, the window opened a few inches as a smoke bomb was thrown in. Without a word being said, all of them jumped to various positions around both the hokage and his son. Boruto was just waking up, having heard various weapons clashing and jutsus being thrown. It didn't take a genius to figure out what they were after, or rather, _who_ they were after. After the smoke had cleared, the stranger was coming towards his dad, who was oblivious to the going ons around him. It was obvious that this guy either hadn't noticed Boruto or figured he wasn't a threat. Either way, he wasn't about to go down without a fight. Jumping from his position towards the figure, he launched his rasengan. As if the guy knew what was coming, he merely moved out of the way and let the impact reach the wall. As Boruto turned to go on the attack again, he realized he was no match for someone so skilled. In the back of his mind, he thought he heard his dad's voice calling his name as he was hurled into the wall and lost consciousness.

The person was long gone by the time someone was able to get inside the sealed room, having heard all of the alarms.

-End Flashback-

It had taken some searching, but they had finally found something that the person dropped. For someone that was supposed to be on such a high level, it seemed very careless. The item had the stranger's blood all over it, which was strange; the person hadn't been injured by the ANBU at all, let alone Boruto. Shikamaru had his own theories, but was obviously keeping them to himself for the moment. They had left Hinata and Himawari with twice as many ANBU, much to her dismay and were following Kakashi and his summon, Pakkun. Two ANBU had followed them, making the search and rescue party quite the formidable team. Shikamaru had wanted to come, but had decided that everyone was already panicked enough as it was. Sasuke knew that as a medic and one of Naruto's closest friends; Sakura would give anyone who tried to talk her out of it the beating of their life, even if it was her own husband.

"We're getting quite far from the village, aren't we? That's not good, considering he was already sick to begin with." Sakura said, biting her lip in worry. Sasuke didn't mention what he was expecting had happened in Naruto's absence. They both knew it was entirely possible that he'd been tortured or even killed, even if they didn't want to acknowledge it. In fact, that was probably one of the things that Shikamaru hadn't wanted to mention before they left.

"The smell is getting a lot closer." Pakkun suddenly announced, breaking them out of their thoughts. "We should be there in a few minutes."

"I'm willing to bet that he's in that warehouse." Sasuke told them as soon as Pakkun disappeared. "There's nowhere else around here to hide, but it's a little too easy."

"I agree with you, Sasuke." Kakashi said, sighing. "The odds of this being a trap are pretty high, I think. But there is no doubt that this is the guy that took him and we can't hesitate or else…"

Sakura leaned against the tree in a deceptively relaxed pose, thinking.

"How should we do this? We can't just go bursting in, because we all know they have at least one guy who can fight at an ANBU level. I suppose we should just try and let the ANBU go first, as they can hide their chakra better. If we hear sounds like a battle, we'll move in immediately."

"Alright, that sounds like a plan." Kakashi said, jumping down with the ANBU squad. "I'll take lead and you guys follow."

-With Naruto-

Although Naruto had gotten most of the seals down, Kurama was barely able to even get near the bars of his new cage. Kurama was currently wanting to pace his cage to get rid of his irritation, he was barely able to move at all. He had told Naruto several times to stop trying to take off the seals, as it was only hurting him every single time. He was already sick and being tortured, but it did seem that someone from the outside was trying to help get them looser somehow. Whenever Naruto went for another seal, it always seemed to be coming off as if someone had forgotten to put it on correctly. There was no doubt about it. Someone was here, helping the both of them get out of here. Kurama doubted this person could get those chains off without being seen, and that was something that needed to be done as soon as possible. He noticed Naruto groaning and trying to pull off the last one that had already been halfway off; but was then unfortunately thrown yet again away from the cage. As the last seal came off, Kurama expected the cage to disappear and realized the person had done all he could for the time being. Growling, he tried roaring to wake Naruto up, who had barely opened his eyes.

"Kurama, we did it." he mumbled, before going unconscious.

The Kyuubi roared in frustration and tried sending his chakra towards Naruto, which barely made it past the entrance to the cage.

Kakashi noticed a flash and then a red light that was blinking at several different points in the rooms. He wasn't sure what to think at first, until he realized they were cameras. Someone was filming their attempts at rescuing Naruto. He clenched his fist and took out several kunai to take them out before his wrist was suddenly stopped out of nowhere.

 _What the-_

Kakashi turned around to face his possible attacker, only to face a ghost he thought disappeared some ages ago. He couldn't have possibly been responsible for this.

" Kakashi sensei, please pretend not to know me. I am working on rescuing him as well as I can, but it has been difficult so far." the man said, getting out some kunai. Kakashi caught on quickly, knowing that there were cameras everywhere. "I have done all I can for the moment, but he is in bad shape. The people responsible had _him_ sealed with a device similar to what you saw Doto Kazahana use in the Land of Snow." Kakashi looked at him in disbelief, as if hoping he was seriously wrong. He knew what the consequences could be for something like that. "I've helped him undo the seals, to the point that it will look like you just broke it. I didn't have time to try and work on the chakra chains, however."

Kakashi wanted to believe him, but he had disappeared right after the war and Naruto hadn't seemed inclined to say or do anything about it. That meant the kid either left quietly or Naruto knew something and just didn't see the point of discussing it with anyone.

"Tell me where he is, then and Sasuke will make sure you follow us back to Konoha."

"Keep going down the hall, before taking one right turn and then a left. You'll see a dead end and no more cameras. The door has a code that only _we_ would know carved on the inside of the left side on the door. Just...if I have to go to jail, make sure my family is safe."

"We'll talk about this later. Where are the watchers?" Kakashi asked, jumping back before throwing a few shurikens that _accidentally_ hit a few cameras when the kid jumped out of the way.

"There's an office, right where all those cameras you see behind me are. You already know who you'll find there. Do it." he said, with a determined look in his eyes, which were hidden behind his mask. Kakashi sighed, not wanting to hurt the kid. "Sensei, you know it's necessary."

Kakashi felt his heart break a little on the inside as he remembered someone he'd always think of as a kid and even a little brother. He hated to do this, but he knew it was the right thing to do. It wouldn't kill him, but he might wish it would. Making the signs for his chidori, he made it as small as possible and aimed for his right shoulder; he also had to make sure that he was precise enough not to hit anything vital like a lung. As the kid screamed in pain, he wished that he could use his sharingan to make it go away; however, that was something he could do nothing about.

"I'm sorry. I'll have Sakura heal it when she can."

"Don't...worry about me. Please rescue...him. Don't let my work...be for...nothing." he said, collapsing. As he fell on the floor, his mask came off and rolled on the floor. Kakashi sighed, knowing he was right. He signaled one of the ANBU to stay and watch him, while the other was sent to get the others. Sasuke and Sakura went after Naruto, after receiving the instructions from Kakashi, while the others went towards the office. As Sasuke opened the door, he gasped and rushed to Naruto's side; as he simultaneously broke and yanked the device off of him. Sakura was studying the chains, wondering if she could just tear them off before seeing him be lowered as Sasuke found the lever.

Sakura decided to take the chains on his legs and use her chakra to pull them to pieces. She was surprised that it worked, considering what they were used for. Repeating the process until he was free, she laid him down completely on the bed and felt Kurama's chakra flooding into him completely. Looking at Sasuke, she sighed in complete relief.

"It seems to have worked. He has burns and some scratches, along with a higher fever. I'm willing to bet that he hasn't had any sort of nutrition at all, which couldn't have helped that cold at all." Sakura said, before frowning in thought.

"You're thinking about that guy that we found, right?"

"It's just pretty coincidental that we got all this intel so easily and getting Naruto was no problem at all. That device should have been a lot harder to remove." Sakura pointed out, shaking her head. "I think he was trying to save him from the start. Hmm."

"Hn." Sasuke said, probably thinking the same thing. He picked up Naruto, letting Sakura take point. If there was a fight, she could definitely defend herself. By the time they had gotten out of the building, Sakura had also tended to the other "assailant" without anyone saying otherwise. They needed to get home as it was.

-Konoha hospital-

With Kurama being able to help heal Naruto again, his burns and scrapes were all but gone by the time he was back in his bed. The ANBU were taking shifts as they usually did, but weren't as worried now that the threat had been dealt with. Boruto had been waiting for news ever since he woke up in a bed and realized his dad was gone. After it was announced that the person who had taken him was being more or less blackmailed, he felt a bit better about the whole thing. Shikamaru was wise enough not to tell anyone aside from those that already knew who was responsible as a whole. The tapes that were found had been destroyed just after being used in the interrogation of both Katasuke and Kosuke. It was never spoken of, but that didn't mean that several people there didn't want to put them to death. However, that was entirely the hokage's decision and they couldn't intervene. A few _accidents_ may have happened on occasion, but that was never truly acknowledged.

Boruto had decided to stay the night again after his mom and Himawari went home, which seemed to suit him just fine. He didn't mean to distance himself from them, and so he usually trained by himself before going to stay the night. The whole family stayed together for maybe a few hours on any given day. He could see how exhausted his mom was nowadays, so he usually tried to be his usual self around Himawari. Aunt Sakura always threatened him if he didn't eat while she was there, even if things tended to taste disgusting all of the time. He knew that if he had trained better and hadn't slacked off that he could've at least tried to save his dad. It was his fault that he was like this in the first place. If he hadn't had to protect him in the first place, then maybe those guys wouldn't have bothered in the first place. He was low on chakra to begin with and then, maybe he wouldn't be…

Naruto felt groggy and could feel an IV in his arm, along with a breathing mask on his face. He felt sort of hot all over and knew that his fever probably hadn't gone down at all. As he opened his eyes, he met a familiar sight that had been there the last time that he was here. Boruto was gripping his hand, as if he was afraid to let go; but Naruto noticed tear tracks on his face, which made him wonder what had happened after he had been captured. He had asked Shikamaru for information, but he had of course gotten the familiar and quite typical Nara answer of it being "too troublesome". He could only hope that wasn't code for "I left it to Sasuke", because he knew if Sasuke saw the torture he went through; he'd _accidentally_ to something to repay them in kind. Actually, he'd be fine with knowing that the whole affair had been taken care of.

Naruto sighed and gripped his son's hand, feeling weaker than he had in a long time. He could sort of guess what was going through the kid's mind, as he had felt the same way when Pain had reduced the village to rubble. It was the look of sheer guilt and a mind filled of _if onlys_. He could see that Boruto hadn't been sleeping by the bags under his eyes; and if he had to guess, he'd say the kid hadn't been eating properly either. Yup, Sasuke was right after all. The kid really _was_ like him, sadly enough. Glancing up, he saw Sakura come rushing into his room with a relieved look on her face, before looking at Boruto sadly. Naruto looked at her with a question in his eyes, not needing to ask one of his closest friends what he was thinking. She frowned at him slightly and shook her head in what he figured was nothing short of dismay and helplessness.

"He's been here everyday and hardly talks to anyone. I can see that he tries to make things seem normal for Himawari, though. I'm worried about him not eating, despite what he says. He's too much like you, being all guilt-ridden about things out of his control."

Naruto frowned, not necessarily agreeing with _that_ particular assessment. Sure, he had blamed himself for things in the past and worried about a lot of things sometimes, but surely it didn't affect his eating. He heard his long-time friend sigh, obviously somewhat irritated at his obliviousness.

"Naruto, do you see that IV there?" Naruto nodded and gave her a 'you-can't-be-serious' look. Of course he saw it; it was only right there in front of him. "Don't give me that look. I'm serious, here. Yes, they didn't give you anything to eat or drink that we could see, but it was obvious that you weren't your usual weight. On top of that, I can tell that this is the most sleep you've gotten for a good while, fever ridden or not."

He knew that he was going to get a lecture from here the day he decided to go to work that day. Even Shikamaru had told him that she was just waiting for the right time and that he had gotten his own, whining about the damage done to the office. After that, he sort of remembered her kicking him out to let him rest. He sighed as she finally stopped her tirade that sounded way too reminiscent of Granny Tsunade's. As she came around to check his vitals, he couldn't help but watch her slight frown as she felt his forehead. He started to ask her what was wrong, but started coughing until he felt like he almost couldn't breathe. She quickly sat him up and turned up his oxygen until it was almost as high as it would go. His bout of coughing had unfortunately woken Boruto up from what was probably his first good night's rest in a while. He suddenly found himself with an extra pillow behind him, with his bed making him sitting him up practically all the way. He looked at Sakura, very confused and opened his mouth to ask before she shook her head.

"Try not to talk for a while, if that's possible. I'll get you some paper and a pen in a minute, but don't wear yourself out." Naruto nodded, but looked at the bed and back at her. She nodded and made sure the pillows were arranged correctly. "I want you sitting up, just not all the way. It should make it easier on your lungs. Your fever is down a bit, but that cough bothers me. By the way, if you even _think_ about trying to escape before I deem you healthy...I will tie you down and make sure the ANBU alert me before you can say Kurama." Naruto looked at his friend and raised his hands in complete surrender, knowing she'd completely follow through with that threat. He saw Boruto out of the corner of his eye pale as his friend let her fist finally fall by her hips in a more casual stance. Finally looking at him, he nodded in assent with a basic 'don't cross her' thought.

"Naruto, I'm serious about this." she told him, giving him the 'obey-me-or-suffer' look; he merely quirked an eyebrow. "Kurama has just now been able to start healing you, so you should be able to get this cough out of your system within a few days or so." At the appearance of her friend's obvious thought of getting out of here so quickly, she was just as fast to push back. "However, _that IV_ is staying there until it does it's job; unless you want me to hook it up in your office for everyone else to see?" she finished, with a glint in her eye.

At this particular point, Boruto had lost his ability to be afraid of her and now was stuck between being in complete awe of someone who could basically _blackmail_ the Hokage without fear; or just laugh at the look of outright shock and almost outrage. He swore that he could actually hear one of the ANBU snort at their leader's current position. He saw his dad finally look at his long-time friend in what he hoped was mock anger and nod reluctantly before rolling his eyes. Boruto turned around as he heard his sensei walk through the door with what most would see as a casual look at his friend.

"I told you not to go into work, idiot." he told him, as he switched places with Sakura who had left after finally finished threatening her friend. "You never did know how to listen, did you?"

He saw his father give Sasuke a weak glare, which he supposed could be interpreted as something like 'yes, because you're so much better.' His sensei sighed after he could see them exchange another glance, which annoyed him so very much. What was with the silent conversations? He blinked in shock as his master gave the old man a small notepad with a pen attached to it, wondering if that had been part of the conversation. Glancing at the door, he wondered if he should just leave. He felt very out of place between the two somehow and wasn't sure if he should just go home. Suddenly, he saw a pen and paper shoved in front of him with a note. He knew it was from his dad, but the note itself made him cringe.

 _We need to talk at some point, ya know? I know that you've been here all the time and that Sakura is about to force food down your throat and you don't sleep. She doesn't like you not eating, ya know?_

Boruto read it a few times and sighed. His dad was coughing a bit and sensei actually looked openly concerned, while obviously thinking about getting Sakura. Of course, he was just waved off as he shook his head and smiled. Okay, so maybe they did need to talk about this, but he wasn't about to make him try and do it tonight. He already looked tired as it was and he didn't want to get a lecture or a beating by Sakura _or_ Sarada if she found out. Sasuke looked at Naruto and frowned, obviously in one of those silent conversations again. Seeing the way they battled together so seamlessly, Boruto had to wonder how long that took and if he could ever do that with his friends. Frowning a bit, he looked between his sensei and his dad, a little unsure of how to approach this. He usually wasn't like this, but lately he'd been feeling so guilty that he felt almost shy and reluctant now. Biting his lip, he figured that maybe asking his sensei would be the best approach. If things went bad, he could always use the backup. Taking a deep breath, he looked directly at Sasuke.

"Sensei, Dad wants to have a talk which will probably end up taking a while." Alright, so far so good. Now he needed an excuse. "Do you want to stay?"

He wasn't quite sure, but he thought that he saw his dad give him a knowing look that said 'I know what you're up to'. He tried his best not to react, but sometimes the way his dad gave him those looks gave him shivers up his spine. His sensei on the other hand, didn't look like he was reacting outwardly, as much as giving Naruto an 'are you stupid' look.

"Idiot, what would Sakura say if she saw you writing when you should be resting? If she came in for rounds and saw a sheet full of writing-"

Boruto wasn't sure, but he didn't think he'd ever seen the old man's eyes practically pop out of his head like that before. He knew he had seen Sarada lose her temper and that was scary enough; so now he knew where she got it from. He backed up slowly and took the paper to move it out of reach, trying to remain out of sight. Out of mind and out of sight as the saying goes. However, it never did work with his dad as the man saw him move just as he took his first step back. He got a glare as the man took off his mask. Boruto only looked on in horror as he tried to talk to him before coughing until he was red in the face again. He still held the mask in his hand just as Sakura came running in, looking anxious and then outright ticked off at Naruto. He saw Sasuke sigh as he had given up trying to pry the mask from the idiot's hand and yank Boruto out of the warpath that was his wife. He saw his father finally stop coughing, and breathing easier as the oxygen was raised as high as possible. He was about to go towards his dad, but Sasuke stopped him and shook his head as Sakura ran out of the room and came back with more medicine to pump into the IV. Sighing, she scanned him and paid special attention to his lungs and throat. Replacing his nutritional bag, she finally turned to them fully and glared.

"Tell me what happened before I end up having to replace one of these walls." she told them both, narrowing her eyes and looking ready to punch one of them.

Boruto had never been so afraid of a woman before and now understood why his dad always did whatever she wanted. How did his sensei _live_ with both her and Sarada? He was kind of tempted to hide behind his sensei's cloak right now, but Sasuke somehow stood there unaffected and told her what happened without even flinching. Somewhat calmer now, Sakura looked at them as if trying to decide if it was true or not before walking back to Naruto with a sigh.

"He's doing well enough, considering everything that's happened," she said quietly, adjusting his mask and bed. "The lungs are better off than they sound and his fever is probably going to break pretty soon."

Boruto looked at her confused, wondering looking at his dad and then back at her.

"That makes no sense at all! You've heard him coughing and his breathing!"

Sakura shook her head, looking at the poor kid that had been trying to hold it together from the start. She was used to these kinds of questions from many of her patients and their families anyway.

"That's true, but that's only because he is trying to get it out of his system. His breathing is because the idiot keeps taking his mask off and making it worse. I told him he would heal within days, but if he keeps doing this? It could be weeks instead." she told him, putting her hand on his head and trying to keep him calm. "Now that you now he is on the mend, am I going to be putting an IV in you or even shoving food down you? Don't think he didn't notice just because he is in bad shape. You'd be surprised how much he notices." she admonished, putting a hand on her hip. Boruto laughed a bit nervously, rubbing his hair like Naruto always does when he gets caught and sighed.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure he caught on to my 'try-to-make-sure-he-actually-rest-plan' when right after I started. So much for that."

"Well, the dobe _is_ resting." Sasuke muttered, only to be smacked by his wife. They heard him coughing lightly in his sleep, which sort of alarmed Boruto in a way; right before Sakura put a hand on his shoulder and guided him out of the door before he could protest.

"It's completely normal. Now, the both of you are going to eat and don't think I won't know if you don't. After that, _you_ will be sleeping now that Naruto is asleep." she demanded, pushing Boruto towards the cafe.

-Naruto hates hospitals-XD

It had taken a week before Naruto's cough and fever had just about disappeared, him only coughing every once in a while. Unfortunately, he wasn't allowed to leave _or_ do any work until his dear friend/worst enemy decided that his IV could come out. He had actually tried to get up and leave before she came in he came up with the excuse that he was just stretching. She had casually asked him if that meant that he wanted it to stay in while he was in the office working. He would never admit that he paled at the mere thought of that. He was however glad to see that Boruto had obviously gained his weight and gotten sleep since he recovered. He did have to wonder how much Sakura had to do with that particular development, though. Smiling at the thought, he did sigh at the reminder that he had basically promised her the same thing as she had threatened him to put another IV in him.

"Hey Dad! Look who came with me this time?" Boruto announced as he strolled through the door. Right behind him was his daughter, who came rushing at him. She still hesitated a bit because of his IV and didn't want to hurt him, so he usually just picked her up when she got close enough.

"Daddy!" she said, as he picked her up. Sakura was finally taking out this monstrous thing she called helpful in a few minutes and he could finally leave. He could take it out himself, but he wasn't about to tempt fate at this point. "Are you really coming home with us today?" she asked, practically jumping in his lap as Sakura came in.

"Yes, he really is. Can I count on you to take care of him?" Sakura said, looking at her as Naruto rolled his eyes. She took out the IV and put a bandage on it, even if it was unnecessary as it would be healed right when they got home.

"Not that I don't absolutely love you, Sakura, but I am _so glad_ to be leaving!" Naruto said as he walked out with everyone. She followed him for a while and gave him instructions and the usual lecture. "Yes, yes; I promise I'll stay at home for a few totally unnecessary days, other than being with everyone."

Naruto stopped in front of the front desk and turned back to his friend to ask what he felt was totally necessary.

"Exactly how many people know that I'm leaving the hospital today?"

Sakura gave him a look that usually had him backing up a few steps, and not because of anger; it was one of those smiles that said he'd find out. Inwardly groaning, he stepped outside and immediately thought about trying to find a back door. It looked like the whole village was here! He gave everyone a smile and a wave before heading for the rooftops with Himawari in his arms and making sure Boruto was right behind him. When they finally made it home, he took a minute to sit on the steps and rest while everyone went inside. He was exhausted already, which was quite pathetic really. He looked up to see Hinata and let her help him to the couch. He knew that there was no way he'd make it to the room. Smiling, he saw his kids running around as Hinata went about fixing dinner. A few days, huh? He may just take the week off and enjoy all the rest he could get, maybe even get in a spar with Sasuke.

A/N: Finally! See, I was going to make another chapter that was just around 1k, but I guess I just ended up doing everything at once. I don't think I really like the ending so much as it just seems like rambling. Sigh. How did this end up being over 6k+? -_-'


End file.
